Lotteries Leave Senior House Full

By Stuart Jackson

With the beginning of the new semester comes a minor wave of change of
housing request forms. This year, the Office of Residence and Campus
Activities and the dormitories were able to respond to all requests for
housing changes.

The RCA processed 102 requests for residence changes since early
December, according to Staff Associate for RCA Phillip M. Bernard.
Forty-eight came from students living off-campus requesting on-campus
housing, and the remaining 54 were transfers from one dormitory to another.
Of the off-campus requests, 23 were from students who depledged from an
independent living group.

RCA has been able to accommodate all the requests by using the 77 spots
which opened in the residence halls after December, Bernard said.
Additional open rooms also allowed about 30 rooms to be decrowded.

The number of housing changes was normal for this time of year, Bernard
said. Traditionally, McCormick Hall and MacGregor House are the most
popular dormitories for moving students, but this year no dormitory
received significantly more requests than another.

"I don't think there's any specific reasons why MacGregor is not as
popular this year," said MacGregor Room Assignments Chair Shilpa V. Shah
'98. This year, 13 people left between terms, while in past years the
number has been around 5, but "I couldn't really attribute it to any
certain cause," she said.

Senior House filled to capacity

Senior House saw its fortunes rise as a result of last summer's
renovations. More students moved into Senior House than out of it, Bernard
said. "I believe the fact that it has physically changed has changed its
culture," he added.

"House culture could take a dramatic change," said Senior House
President Christopher H. Barron '97. There are "a lot of new benefits to
having a new infrastructure - heating that works, plumbing that works," but
it is "too early to tell what my ultimate feelings will be," Barron
said.

Senior House Housing Manager Jonathan M. Hunt '97 said that Senior House
was fully occupied this term, something that had not happened before the
renovations. Freshman residents have adapted well to Senior House, and only
one moved out during last fall, Hunt said.

Senior House has "changed for the better," but residents miss "some of
the old things we could do to the house," Hunt said.

Baker House move goes well

Other dormitories' spring moves also went well, despite some complaints
about the lottery system employed in some dormitories.

"I found out at 5 p.m. that I had to move by midnight," said Grace Kim
'00. The Baker House lottery was held Registration Day, and some students
had little time to change rooms before classes began.

Baker President Iyad Obeid '97 said that Baker holds its lottery on
Registration Day because it is "the first day we're sure that everyone is
back."

The relatively short moving period is not a great inconvenience, because
people still knew that they had to pack their belongings, Obeid said. "You
don't know where you're moving, but you know you're moving."

Obeid said he was pleased with the midyear move at Baker. Baker had
about 10 transfers and is "at maximum capacity, but not over that - so the
more the merrier."

McCormick Room Assignment Chair Burianek K. Theresa '99 said that
McCormick posts available rooms on Registration Day and allows residents 72
hours to post their preferences. The rooms are then assigned by seniority
and other factors. She said that all residents must be moved by midnight on
Feb. 9. For the most part, the move at McCormick went smoothly, Burianek
said.

Some dormitories managed to avoid the spring moving rush all together.
Shah said that MacGregor does not use a room lottery between terms and
instead allows its new residents the chance to move as rooms become
available during Independent Activities Period.